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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27789370">Compromises</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/mellonicle/pseuds/mellonicle'>mellonicle</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Age Difference, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Zeke is a surgeon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 14:22:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,773</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27789370</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/mellonicle/pseuds/mellonicle</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Yara Estheim discovered that her friend, Eren Yeager, has an attractive half-brother. </p>
<p>Zeke x (OC)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Zeke (Shingeki no Kyojin)/Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. An Incredulous Little Smirk</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is my first work here :) I hope people who stumbled upon this fic will enjoy it as much as I write it. Any feedback is appreciated. Also, I'm sorry if there is a grammar error because English isn't my native language. Happy reading!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Head empty, all she can remember was a lot of red. How the hell she ended up in the back of an ambulance was beyond her. Yara remembered she was supposed to go to the library to return some books that are due today. She can feel the thick books pressed on her back, giving her little space to sit down on the small ambulance seat. Shit, now she won’t make it back to the campus and return the book on time. The lady in the library will surely lecture her. That thought did nothing to calm her trembling hands. Why did she think about it when the reason for her current problem was in front of her, unconscious?</p>
<p>It’s happening so fast. First, a bunch of kids flirted with her on her way to the library. Fortunately, (or unfortunately), she was walking with one of her friends, who happened to be the infamous Eren Yeager. This guy had a reputation for his unlimited rage. He was an active member of the campus and had led many rallies thanks to his bravery (and also anger). Eren said his anger is the secret to bring humanity to its peak one day. So far, he has also brought problems to himself since he picked a fight pretty easily. Yara even believed the kids earlier didn’t really wanna flirt with her, they just wanted to annoy Eren. Which succeeded and it turned really ugly in a matter of seconds.</p>
<p>“Hey, he will be okay. Don’t worry.” The paramedic tried to calm her down. He had a buff build, the uniform on him hugged his body a little too tightly. His face looked kind of serious but once he smiled, he looked friendly enough. Nonetheless, from when he handled Eren earlier, Yara felt like she could trust him. The other paramedic was this lean guy with a friendly face who cast her a comforting smile once in a while as he assessed Eren’s condition.<br/>
Sigh, Eren… Now that she thought about him, she can’t help but flashback to what happened a few minutes ago. She gripped the hem of her skirt, wishing she didn’t wear the damn thing today. Wishing that Jean, her best (worst) friend, didn’t dare her to wear a skirt. Wishing they didn’t walk on the empty lot behind the library. Wishing that Eren wasn’t so easily provoked. Wishing that Mikasa, Eren’s foster sister-slash-girlfriend-slash-bodyguard was with them. Where the hell was she when they needed her the most?</p>
<p>
  <em>“What did you say?”</em>
</p>
<p>She remembered Eren sounded so angry as he grabbed the boy on the collar of his t-shirt. Yara didn’t even clearly remember what the guys said. It was something about slut, Eren’s slut, the skirt made her look like a slut. Didn’t even matter as Eren threw a punch to the guy’s gut. Thank God Eren wasn’t only all rage and no skill because even though he was up against four guys, he can fight them with no problem.</p>
<p>Yara shut her eyes tightly when she remembered how useless she was. She tried to grab one of the guys and ended up getting hit in the face and fell on her butt. How embarrassing. That was when she saw one of them grabbing a bat and hit Eren square on the back of his head, rendering him unconscious. What made it worse, he fell on his forehead on the concrete. Then, blood spilling, she screamed, people started to come in their direction and the kids ran away.</p>
<p>“We need some help over here!”</p>
<p>The buff paramedic yelled once they arrived at the hospital. He and the other paramedics nimbly took Eren's unconscious form to the ER, where several nurses immediately helped them. Yara walked out of the ambulance a few seconds later, noticing that the sky has darkened and the sun was almost set. She was surprised that her legs felt wobbly when she tried to walk. One of the paramedics caught her arms as she was about to stumble.</p>
<p>“You okay, Miss?” he asked, voice gentle and soothing. It was the friendly lean paramedic. Yara can’t help but blush. She almost fell down and made a fool out of herself. Oh, this chain of embarrassment, I hope they cease, she thought.</p>
<p>“Your brother is in the ER,” the other paramedic, the buff guy, talked on the phone loud enough for her to hear. Yara can’t help but wonder who the guy talked to. He definitely talked about Eren, did he? Does Eren have a brother?</p>
<p>“Are you hurt somewhere?” said the tall paramedic, grabbing her attention from the other guy. There are a lot of places that felt hurt, actually. It felt hurt every time she opened her mouth. She didn’t even have to look in the mirror to know that the hit she took earlier busted her lips. She can also see faint bruises on her palms, just beneath the sands glued on them. And also her butt from the fall earlier. However, compared to Eren’s condition, it seemed minor and something she can fix by herself.</p>
<p>“It’s okay. Is my friend going to be okay, though?’</p>
<p>“Yes. But your li-“</p>
<p>“Hey, Reiner, what happened actually?” a guy came shortly to their direction, half running. His blonde hair and facial hair was the first thing Yara noted, then his rounded glasses and white long coat. He was a doctor. With a beard. A doctor with a beard and an unlit cigarette hanging off his lips.</p>
<p>“He was fighting with a bunch of guys, got hit in the head,” the buff guy, who now she discovered named Reiner, explained, “You can ask this Miss here, she was there with him. His girlfriend.”</p>
<p>“No, I’m not,” Yara said quickly, “His friend, and yes, I was there.”</p>
<p>The blonde guy looked down at her for a second, face void with any emotion. Yara felt insecure all of a sudden because for sure today’s event had turned her into an utter mess. He stared at her for a solid five seconds before clicking his tongue, annoyed.</p>
<p>“What do you guys paramedics do? Look at her face,” he complained, “Come on, follow me. Let me fix that.”</p>
<p>Unsure, Yara looked at both of the paramedics. They just shrugged and encouraged her to follow the blonde man. Yara followed him like a lost lamb while wondering where Eren was right now. Probably they had taken him somewhere? Her train of thought stopped as they came to an empty hospital bed and the doctor gestured to her to sit on it. She put her bag down on the bed before obeying him.</p>
<p>“Doctor-”</p>
<p>“Zeke,” he cut her off, taking his unlit cigarette from his mouth then shoved it in his pocket, “I usually go by Doctor Yeager here, but Zeke is fine. You’re Eren’s friend, right?<br/>
She nodded, “Yara. And you’re his brother?”</p>
<p>“The one and only,” the blonde guy said. Yara wondered how this doctor and Eren can look nothing alike even though she slowly can see the resemblance of this guy with Eren’s father. However, his father wasn’t blonde. So does his mom.</p>
<p>“I hope we can meet in another circumstance but thanks to my passionate brother, here we are.” Zeke said with a sarcastic tone in his voice, “What did he do this time?”</p>
<p>“He got in a fight with a bunch of kids because they called me…” she gulped, unsure if she can say the word to a stranger who happened to be her friend’s brother, “names. Eren got angry and punched one of them.”</p>
<p>“Good for him,” Zeke said. Yara then caught his eyes giving a quick glance downward and she realized she still wore the short skirt. She immediately gripped the hem and helplessly pulled the material to cover her thighs more.</p>
<p>Zeke chuckled, “Well, here,” he grabbed the blanket on the hospital bed and gave it to Yara, “Even though it was a sight for sore eyes.”</p>
<p>Yara thanked him, flustered as she covered her thighs with it. Zeke muttered a soft “hmmm” then went somewhere for a couple of minutes before coming back with a tray of medical supplies.</p>
<p>“Well, look at that, Yara,” he suddenly grabbed her chin, catching her off her guard. Even though it was a gentle touch, Yara felt her face get hot.</p>
<p>She tried to not look at his eyes and darted them elsewhere. Whitecoat, the lanyard on his neck written with “Maria Central Hospital”, back to white coat again before staying for a little while analyzing his nametag. The name tag is written with “Dr. Zeke Yeager” below a pretty attractive photo of him with no beard.</p>
<p>“Who the hell did this to a girl?” his voice burst Yara’s little thought and she now realized Zeke still cupped his hand on her chin, examining the wound on her lips. Yara never had a guy look at her lips this intently before and she believed she was about to combust into shades of red.</p>
<p>“Some guys on the campus,” Yara knew it was a rhetorical question, but she replied to it anyway.</p>
<p>“Kids these days,” Zeke sighed then grabbed something from the medical tray.</p>
<p>“Okay, this will sting,” he warned before dabbing the wound on her lips with alcohol. Oh God, that stings, Yara thought as she tried not to scream. Zeke wasted no time to pity her and keep doing it until she gripped hard on the blanket.</p>
<p>“Of all places, why did you get hit on the lips though?” Zeke wondered, “Are your teeth alright?”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” As far as she can feel, her teeth are okay and she doesn’t lose any teeth, “Don’t you have to take care of Eren though?”</p>
<p>“Nah, another doctor has already handled him. She will get mad if I meddled on her patient,” he said as he dabbed another ointment to her lips. The stings already subdued.</p>
<p>“Okay, that’s done. Please don’t kiss for a few days. Think you can handle it?” Zeke winked as he dumped the cotton buds into the rubbish bin. Yara’s eyebrows furrowed hearing it.</p>
<p>“Of course,” she answered, sounded a little bit too irritated than she intended.</p>
<p>“Well, I once in college, Yara, so I know how it is there,” Zeke then pulled a chair and sat in front of her, “Now show me your hands. They got scratches too, right?”</p>
<p>Yara showed him her palms and the doctor then began cleaning the bruises. Zeke asked for more details of the event, he got curious about how his brother was on the campus. He shook his head a few times as she explained that this is the second time he got in a fight this week. The first time was just two days ago. Thank God, Mikasa was there so the situation was under control. Zeke also told her a story where Eren got in a fight with a bunch of naughty teenagers who bullied a cat in their neighborhood. Eren was nine at that time.</p>
<p>In between Zeke cleaning her bruises and sharing stories with her, Yara was trying her best not to focus on the doctor’s details. However, it failed miserably. Because now she discovered behind the round glasses, he had icy blue eyes that glinted every time they met hers. She discovered beneath the smell of sterile alcohol in the ER, he smelled good. It was a smell that she can’t name; mild, musky, and rich, with a faint smell of cigarette every now and then. She discovered he had a deep, sexy but friendly voice that sometimes sounded like he didn’t open his mouth fully. When he chuckled, it was music to her ears. She knew she was exaggerating but she made it her goal to make him chuckles. Then his smile. Oh God, when he smiled, the left side of his lips turned upwards, forming an incredulous little smirk that made her heart skip a beat. That damn smirk, Yara knew she was in trouble.</p>
<p>“Yeah, that’s nothing new. Eren has always been in trouble ever since he was in grade school.” The doctor chuckled as she told him the story when Eren almost punched a lecturer who gave an inappropriate joke to a girl in their class. Yes, that chuckles, her mission constantly succeeded.</p>
<p>A few seconds later Zeke finished his job and began to tidy the medical supplies, “Now it’s done. You can go home.”</p>
<p>“But I wanna see Eren first,” she said, clearly was not ready to go home, and clearly was not because of Eren.</p>
<p>“Don’t worry about him. He’ll be fine. I’ll tell you once he woke up,” Zeke assured, reaching for something in his pocket, “May I have your number?”</p>
<p>Yara blinked for a few seconds, looking at the phone in front of her then Zeke immediately added, “To tell you once he woke up. You’d like to know, right?”</p>
<p>She nodded frantically, grabbing the phone and put her number fast. She hesitated on giving her contact name, so she left it blank and gave Zeke his phone back. He smiled and typed something on his phone before he put it in his pocket.</p>
<p>“Can you go home alone? I’ll order you an Uber. I want to drive you home myself but my shift hasn’t ended.”</p>
<p>Too bad, Yara thought, but decided to keep it on herself, “You’re already too kind. Thanks for everything.”</p>
<p>“Nonsense.” he took his phone again, did something on it, and put it back in again, “Your uber will be here shortly,” he smiled. Oh, that smile again.</p>
<p>“I should go back. Stay out of trouble, okay?”</p>
<p>She nodded and muttered another “thank you.” The doctor smiled back and waved at her, walked away then disappeared in the corner of the ER room. Yara sat on the bed for a good second, a smile still plastered on her face as slowly stood up and put on her bag. Leisurely, she walked out of the ER, biting her lower lip.<br/>
She was not sure if she would do what Zeke said just now. The only trouble she was getting into was that damn smile after all.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. A Rare Occasion</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Little to none Zeke's moment here but I also love writing for Jean hahaha</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>When she arrived in her dorm, she noticed it was empty. Her dorm mate, Ymir, was probably still out. Yara then remembered she hadn’t told anyone about Eren’s condition. Grabbing her phone, she opened her Line and opened the </span>
  <em>
    <span>104</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>th</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> group</span>
  </em>
  <span>, which consisted of the small circle of people she befriended in college.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>Me</b>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Eren is in the hospital, unconscious. Got in a silly fight with a bunch of kids, trying to save me</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Before she could get any reply, the first person who chatted with her personally after she broke the news about Eren to the chat group was Mikasa. The guilt that disappeared for a good while when she was in the ER and on her way to her dorm (still smiling like an idiot) creeping back. She felt bad. She just thanked Eren a few minutes ago for making her met his brother who was charming and handsome and gentle and-</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Bzzzzz</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Her train of thought stopped as a call came in. The screen displayed </span>
  <em>
    <span>Mikasa Ackerman</span>
  </em>
  <span> and a curse immediately slipped from her lips. She forgot to reply to Mikasa for a few minutes because she was thinking of a way to answer the girl without giving her the wrong idea. Yara didn’t want to get on Mikasa’s bad side after all; she was an adept in martial arts, even boys got scared of her. She won several medals for that! Though she was sure Mikasa wouldn't choke and slammed her to the floor (or any other girl), Yara doesn’t want to try her luck. Mikasa was also very, very cool. And very, very in love with Eren. The stupid boy was too busy playing the hero of humanity to acknowledged her feeling. His lost.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hello?” Yara said, swallowing her saliva.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yara? Where is Eren? Is he okay? What happened? Why is he-“</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Calm down, Mika. The doctor said he is fine, even though he is still unconscious.” She said. She then explained to her in the best assuring voice as she can, hoping that it can calm her down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was waiting for him to go home together…” she said worriedly, “I need to go there. Thank you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mikasa hung up. Yara looked into his phone screen, hoping that the girl was not angry at all with her. She sighed, throwing her back on the bed before slowly drowsiness took over her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yara woke up with a jolt, eyes still heavy with sleep. However, when she tried to close her eyes and sleep again, she found her brain refused to shut down. Sighing, she opens her eyes, realizing that she slept in the same outfit that she had last night. She groaned as she turned down the short skirt that had hiked up and showed her panties. Her lower lip still stung, but it felt better than yesterday. So did her palms. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yara then reached for her phone. It’s 4 in the morning. A rare occasion to wake up at this time of the day. There were also a lot of notifications when she connected to the wi-fi. She opened the first chat that came on top of the list.  </span>
</p><p>
  <b>Jean</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[7:12 PM]</b>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Why did you send that chat and then don’t explain further dummy</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oi, you dead?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Yaraaaaaaaaa</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <b>[7:50 PM]</b>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Mikasa and armin told the guys that they want to go see eren</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>You coming?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <b>[8:00 PM]</b>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I guess you’re dead</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <b>[8:15 PM]</b>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Ymir said you’re dead asleep</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <b>[8:30 PM]</b>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Eren is awake and the first thing that he said is</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>I’m gonna kill them</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <b>[8:31 PM]</b>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Why does Mikasa like someone like this, tell me</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Tell me yara</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Why is it not me</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Yara rolled her eyes at his chat. The first time she met Jean, he was this aloof guy, a frat boy soon-to-be with a smug smirk every time a girl met his eyes. He was the first partner she got on the very first project assigned by the lecturer. He hit on her every chance he got, suspiciously caring, and asked her a lot of questions to engage in a conversation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>However, his attitude changed the second time they worked together. No more smug smirk, no more random flirty comment about her hair, smile, or anything. Their weird relationship began when Jean looked down on the paper they worked on with a solemn look and said, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Hey, do you know Mikasa Ackerman?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span> Without thinking much, Yara typed a reply to the dramatic guy.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <b>Me</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[4:30 AM]</b>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Because youre miserable</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Im alive, you still need someone to channel all that sadness</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Yara then scrolled her chats and saw several names chatting with her as well as groups. Then one foreign name caught her attention. Her breath caught on her throat. She stared at the display name, eyes widened with disbelief. It’s a chat from Zeke Yeager.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh my God, he sent a chat. He really sent a chat to her! Yara let out a breath, smiling. When the situation really sank in, she yelped silently and giggled. Should she open the chat now or wait? It’s still morning, if she opens the chat now and replies to him, does it make her seem eager? But she really wanted to see what he said. The notification said he sent three chats. Three! Ah, to hell with it. Closing her eyes, she immediately opened it.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>Zeke Yeager</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[7:42 PM]</b>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Hey, this is Zeke, Eren’s brother.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I just want to inform you that Eren just woke up</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>How are you feeling though?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>That’s really him. That Zeke Yeager, Eren’s brother, the doctor that helped her in the ER. The man with beautiful golden hair and amazing spectacle. And he asked her how she is feeling!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yara cheered, a bit too loud and it earned her a grunt from the bed opposite her. In the dim room, she can see the silhouette of her dorm mate, stirring.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“God damnit, too early,” the girl mumbled. Yara whispered a “sorry” and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She looked at the chat for several seconds, smiling again, locking her phone screen, just to open it again to see the chat and smile. The cycle repeated three times before she took another deep breath and put down her phone on the bed. She needed to stop before she combusted into confetti and Ymir got mad because she disturbed her sleep.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yara decided not to reply to the chat right away. Still too early. Even though she was sure she had a weird, too sudden crush, over this guy, thank God she still had a little bit of dignity in her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Because going back to sleep was out of the question, she decided to make her bed, go out for a jog around the dorm, and take a bath. It’s rare to see her do things this early in the morning. The clock showed that it’s 6 in the morning when she got back to her dorm room. Yara found Sasha still sleeping, legs spread and blanket kicked out on the floor. She smiled, feeling a bit too generous this morning, and put the blanket on Ymir.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yara put on her best outfit and began to walk to the campus. It took her ten minutes to walk from the dorm to reach there, but it took her longer today because she walked slower to enjoy the scenery. God damn it, what happened to her? This was not the first time she had a crush! Wait, is this a crush?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She sat down on one of the seats on the campus ground and took her phone. There are a few minutes before the library opens and less than an hour before her first class begins. Yara decided it’s not too early anymore to reply to the chats. And if it took longer than this, whatever feeling she felt right now started to look more serious than she intended it to be. It’s just a silly crush and nothing more.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>Me</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[6:40 AM]</b>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Hi</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Thank you, I’ll see him after my first period</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Also thank you for yesterday</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>And I’m fine, thanks</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She hesitated to put a little smiley face, but did it anyway just to regret it after she pressed ‘sent’. Yara decided to ignore whatever second doubt she felt and fled to the library.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The library lady gave her a fake smile once she saw her, saying things about returning books on time with a fake nice tone. If only she didn’t need those books, Yara didn’t really want to go to the library and deal with her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Unsurprisingly, she was the first one to arrive in the class. Mikasa and Armin came a few minutes later, immediately walking in her direction once they met her eyes. They’re Eren’s closest friends, going to the same high school together then ended up taking the same study program as him. So Yara already expected them to talk to her to ask further. Armin was the one doing most of the talking, asking how she is, the full detail of the event yesterday. He mentioned Eren couldn’t clearly remember what had happened, he even forgot that he was with Yara the time the accident happened. The only thing he remembered was who those kids were. Apparently, Eren recognized them, they were from another faculty and had some issues with him before. Yara silently appreciated Eren’s dedication to fighting that he couldn’t remember her but clearly remembered the guys he had fought with.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Behind Armin, Mikasa listened closely, giving a few small nods to what her friend said. Yara felt a little bit intimidated. Even though she had been hanging out with most of the students in her year, she didn’t remember the last time she had a real conversation with the girl. She had a cool demeanor that naturally intimidated others. As far as she knew, Mikasa only showed her expressions to Eren. Mikasa was also really pretty, Yara can’t help but feel insecure every time she was around her. She was as pretty as a sack of potato if she stood side by side with Mikasa. She definitely can see why Jean was head over heels toward her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jean came in right before the professor came, followed by two other kids behind him. His eyes widened as he saw Mikasa (and Armin) sitting at the desk in front of Yara. She could see Jean trying to keep his cool when he walked to their desks. Yara gave him a look, knowing he tried to hide his excitement.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi, Mikasa,” Jean greeted, sitting on the empty seat beside Yara. Mikasa replied, ‘Hi,’ shortly then took her books and sat down straight facing the lecturer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi, Jean,” Yara whispered in a teasing tone. Jean side-glanced her, displaying a smile as his eyes linger for a while on Mikasa’s black, short hair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, you look like a creep.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t care,” Jean said before unwillingly facing Yara, his swooned look turned into a teasing one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nice wound there. Did you make out with an ogre or something?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yara flashed him a middle finger as she opened her textbook and tried to listen to whatever motivational words Mr. Pixies, the professor, said at this point. The bald man loved to give motivational quotes before the class began, cracking a few jokes with the students and sometimes telling stories of his youth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks to your dare, dickhead, I wore a short skirt and a bunch of jerks decided to call me slut. Eren came to save the day,” she said sarcastically, “Maybe I really should root for him in your miserable love conquest, after all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jean shot her a glare, “Don’t you dare. And well, thanks to me, at least a few guys finally paid attention to you and one even defended you! What a good love story.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ha…ha…” Yara replied, “At least it’s better than yours.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jean didn’t give an immediate reply, making Yara suddenly worried that she went too far with the mocking. As she was about to add something, Jean beat her to it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, you should try dating Eren.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yara raised an eyebrow at him, “Are you nuts?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m serious. If you dated Eren, Mikasa will be heartbroken and I will be by her side to help her move on and she will realize how amazing I am. Win win solution,” Jean explained with a glint in his eyes, clearly thought that this is a good idea. Yara glanced at the girl in front of her, wishing she didn’t hear Jean scheming his stupid plan.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Whispering back to her best friend, Yara said, “Jean, I’m not interested.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, Eren was pretty hot, nice, and really manly. But she saw Eren as a friend, nothing more. Also, she was not sure she could compete against Mikasa.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yara felt her phone buzzing in her pocket. Taking it secretly under her desk, she smiled when she saw the name displayed on the screen. Sorry, Jean, Eren was not the Yeager Yara wanted to date.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Next Time</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>Zeke Yeager</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[8:23 AM]</b>
</p><p>
  <em>That's a lot of thanks, I'm flattered</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I can schedule a check up to see if your bruises healing perfectly</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Haha just kidding</em>
</p><p>
  <b>[8:24 AM]</b>
</p><p>
  <em>Anyway Eren is seething, he is about to commence project payback for those guys</em>
</p><p>
  <em>While he can't even sit down without throwing up!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Help me</em>
</p><p>When she saw the chat, Yara had to hold back her squeal. Well, look at that. He is joking with her! He made effort to have a conversation!</p><p>If only she wasn't in the middle of the class. Yara gripped on Jean's arm, a little bit too strong that the poor guy yelled. Mr. Pixies only gave him a look then cracking a joke about how Jean's voice sounded like the horse he rode back when he spent the holiday in the country side. The joke made the whole class laugh, even Mikasa smiled a bit. Poor Jean indeed. As he threw a glare at Yara, the girl know she had to make it up later to him. But perhaps not today.</p><p>When the class ended, she immediately took her phone and typed in a reply, completely ignoring Jean who smacked the back of her head.</p><p>
  <b>Me</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[10:30 AM]</b>
</p><p>
  <em>Haha they're just bruises</em>
</p><p>
  <em>It's a boring case</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Anyway can't help you with eren</em>
</p><p>
  <em>You're his brother tho</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Lecture him</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Wait</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Even better youre a doctor</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Drug him</em>
</p><p>After she replied the chat, she finally realized that people grouped around her desk. Well, mostly Armin's desk, but hers was crowded too. She realized that Jean became too close to her as another girl squeezed beside him, arm on his shoulder and eyes looked unfocused. It was Sasha, one of her classmate. She probably didn't pay attention to the conversation and thinking about food now. Connie, her best friend, stood beside her with arm crossed, look more serious than Sasha.</p><p>"I can't go, Mr. Shadis asked Marco and I to do a favour," he said, genuinely looked guilty for not being able to see Eren. Marco, the timid looking guy beside him, nodded as affirmation.</p><p>"Same," Sasha joined in, "I have appointment in the cafeteria."</p><p>No one argued with her reasoning, everyone expected it already.</p><p>Suddenly, Yara's phone buzzed for a few times. Her heart raced in a second.</p><p>
  <b>Zeke Yeager</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[10:35 AM]</b>
</p><p>
  <em>That's a pleasant thought</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I'll consider it</em>
</p><p>
  <em>My, you're a sly little girl</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Keep that attitude and I might ended up proposing you</em>
</p><p>Yara's breath hitched in her throat. Did he just... Did he just flirt with her????</p><p>Ignoring her friends, Yara squealed, trying her best not to scream and do a cheer on her seat. Jean gave her another side glance then shook his head.</p><p>
  <b>Me</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[10:40 AM]</b>
</p><p>
  <em>I'll try my best to keep this attitude </em>
  <em>😊</em>
</p><p>She smiled. Cringed a bit. Then, smiled again at the reply. Ugh, she knew it was not the best reply she could think of but she just couldn't wait to reply. Maybe she really should consult with Jean about this. Wait, if she did it, doesn't it make this silly crush seem more serious?</p><p>"...it's okay, guys. It's not like Eren's losing a limb or something. Mikasa and I will be-"</p><p>"I wanna go too!" Yara cut Armin's sentence as the gang started to dismiss themselves. The blonde guy and the girl beside him stopped.</p><p>"Well then, hurry up," Armin said and Yara immediately gather all her belongings and shove them in her bag.</p><p>---</p><p>For someone who laid down in a hospital bed, Eren actually looked pretty great. He looked just like the usual campus heartthrob Eren, with serious, sharp, green eyes and thin smirk when he greeted people. Well, except now there are bandages around his head. And thin facial hair that he usually shaved every morning. And few bruises, purplish left eye, and cuts on his lips... Okay, Yara should admit he looked like crap. At least he looked far better than yesterday. But he was still charming in his own way.</p><p>Eren's mom was there when they arrived. Carla, his mom, was the best mom Yara ever met, after her own. In her 40s, Carla still looked beautiful and charming. "Thanks to Zumba and yoga," she said when Yara complimented her slim figure. She was often mistaken as her son's date if they walked or took pictures together. The guys envied Eren a lot, though he was really pissed off every time the guys came and blatantly admiring his mom. She also had thousands of followers on Instagram and pretty active on the platform, sometimes sharing recipes and fashion tips. Yara wished she can aged like her in the future. And as Jean said and Yara quoted, "Mr. Yeager is one damn lucky man."</p><p>"It's been awhile, right, Yara? I missed cooking for you," Carla said as she gave her a hug.</p><p>"Eren doesn't let me come over." Yara said jokingly, which earned a complained from Eren. Carla played along with her joke, scolding Eren with a playful tone. The boy only rolled his eyes.</p><p>Yara sat down on the chair beside Eren's bed while the others talked with Carla. Mikasa and Armin were much closer to Eren's family, even already felt like one. Moreover, Mikasa lived with them when they were in high school because her parents was working abroad. Sometimes Yara was curious about Eren and her relationship. So far they've never dated, but it was as clear as day that Mikasa had feelings for the rebellious guy. It was either Eren was really blind or really stupid that he didn't acknowledge it.</p><p>"Hey. How you doing?" Eren said, pausing the game he played on his phone.</p><p>"I'm great. Thanks to you,"</p><p>"Yeah, I feel pretty good knowing I defended you. Though I still don't remember the exact moment," he let out a small scoff, looking back at his phone again. Yara smiled, silently thanking him for another reason.</p><p>"I don't know you have a brother," she asked, hoping that it won't sound weird that she brought it up suddenly.</p><p>"Yeah, he worked here," Eren said nonchalantly, seemed like he didn't really think much about it, "He's my half-brother. Did you meet him?"</p><p>Yara nodding her head slowly hearing the fact, "He helped me yesterday."</p><p>So, he was Eren's half-brother, Yara thought. That explained why they both didn't resemble each other. Yara's mind wandered, she found herself suddenly really interested with Eren's family tree. Did Mr. Yeager have two wives? Is Zeke a kid from his previous marriage? Where is his mother? Why is she suddenly intrigued by other people's affair???</p><p>Carla interrupted Yara's silly thought as she excuses herself to go home. The older woman sighed contently, finding their visit a chance for her to go home and change.</p><p>"I cannot leave Eren alone here. He cannot do things by his own," she said while rustling her son's hair in a loving manner. Eren looked displeased but didn't brush of his mother's hand. Carla then proceed to give him a kiss on the cheek before she walked out of the room. Armin followed after her, volunteering himself to carry her bag. Before she even realized, Yara was left alone in the room, third-wheeling Mikasa and Eren.</p><p>She eyed Eren who was still busy with his phone. Mikasa stood beside his bed, peeling an apple while stealing glances at him, face void with emotion. Though Yara swear she saw a hint that the girl worried behind her stoic, beautiful face. The atmosphere was pretty awkward, with no one saying anything. Was it always like this between these two? They were close friends, weren't they?</p><p>Shoot, Yara cursed mentally. She should've followed Armin and Carla earlier. She wasn't here to watched and solved these lovers' tension!</p><p>"I'm thirsty, does anyone want a drink?" she stood up suddenly.</p><p>"Can you grab me a Pocari?" Eren said without looking up from his phone. Yara nodded in response.</p><p>"I'm okay," Mikasa chimed in, also without looking at her. What a warm couple, Yara thought and wasting no second time to leave the room as fast as possible.</p><p>Yara remembered she saw a vending machine near the elevator when she got here. However, for the sake of staying out of Eren's room as long as possible, she decided to search for another vending machine. Yara made her way down the stair and wander around, taking her time to look on every corner of the hospital. It was busy. Hospital is a place where most life begin and end. It was kind of weird, but Yara loved hospital. It reminded her of the time when she was in grade school, spending days after school in hospital because her mom had to look after her sick grandmother. She was a great woman and her death made her sad, but it was inevitable and she can see it coming. There was no regret and she was finally free from her suffering. Coming to the hospital was always felt like a nostalgic experience.</p><p>She found another vending machine on the hall. Just to made sure, she bought four bottles of Pocari, just in case. She hoped Armin was already there when she came back.</p><p>"Yara?" Oh my God, that voice.</p><p>"Zeke?" There he is, the one she's been looking for since she came to the hospital. Since she caught herself thinking too much (almost in an unhealthy manner), Yara tried not to admit she went around the hospital hoping to find him. She's been denying that every time she saw someone with blonde hair somewhere in the hospital, her heart made a little leap, then sighed (disappointedly, kind of) when they were not <em>him. </em>Then now, here he was, wearing his white coat with a sky blue shirt underneath it. Here he was, smiling at her.</p><p>"What a coincidence, I was about to text you," Zeke let out a chuckles, "I was from Eren's room and only found him and his girlfriend. Boring."</p><p>Yara laughed, and she cried mentally when it came out like a sound of a wounded seal, the one she heard when she watched NatGeo. It felt as if she was caught doing something bad, even though all she did was holding awkwardly four bottles of Pocari against her chest. Suddenly they felt really heavy in her arms.</p><p>"Have you had your lunch?"</p><p>Yara shook her head, "No-"</p><p>"See? What a coincidence." Zeke cut her off before she had a chance to ask, <em>How about you?</em> "Come on, I'm on my break."</p><p>"But I have to give these to my friends." Yara said, making gestures with her eyes at the bottles in her arms. Zeke just scoffed and waved his hand.</p><p>"No problem," he looked around as if he was searching for something, then his eyes lit up, "Nurse Annie!"</p><p>A blonde nurse looked at them before heading to their direction, "May I helped you, Dr. Yeager?"</p><p>Yara can't help but stared into this divine beauty before her. She was beautiful, even in her plain blue nurse scrub. Imagine if she was in her casual outfit, or a dress. She could definitely pass as a model. Or maybe she was one. Why everyone in this hospital are so attractive?</p><p>"Can you deliver this to room 89?" even though he asked, the man didn't even wait for a response and immediately reach for the bottles in Yara's arm, giving it one by one to the nurse. She didn't even complained and took the drinks obediently. Yara felt bad and all she can say was thank you. Nurse Annie just nodded before she's gone without a single word.</p><p>"Problem solved," Zeke said with a proud smile, taking all the credit, "come on."</p><p>Unlike yesterday, Zeke was walking side by side with Yara, making her realize that she was about his shoulder. She felt pretty small beside him, suddenly aware that he was pretty tall. That means she had to crane her neck and stand on her toes just to kiss him. That would be pretty tiring, but the image looks cute, right? Yara blinked at her own thought. It's still too early to imagine things, dear God, she needs to say something before her brain start to made up several possibilities on how to kiss a taller guy.</p><p>"How are you-"</p><p>"How is-"</p><p>They look at each other when their words overlapping each other, raising eyebrows awkwardly. Zeke was the one to break the silence with a chuckle. Yara felt her face grew hotter, and she can't decide it was from the awkward moment or the sound of his laughter.</p><p>"Coincidence," he said amusedly, "you first, Yara."</p><p>Yara chimed in a short laughter, cleared her throat, then said, "How is work?"</p><p>"Same old, same old," Zeke answered nonchalantly, "Hectic. I have a surgery in two hours. A cancer removal on brain. So exciting."</p><p>"Wait, are you a surgeon?"</p><p>"A resident surgeon, but yeah, I am. Won't take long till I become legit surgeon though. And probably won't take long till I become a cool, head surgeon."</p><p>"I don't know what's the difference but you already look cool in my eyes."</p><p>Zeke raised his eyebrows coyly at her, "Am I?"</p><p>Thank God that they arrived in the cafeteria area so that Yara can pretend to be busy looking at the new surroundings, hoping that Zeke will brushed her words off. She was expecting the restaurant in the hospital to be a boring, all-white area that looked like they served bland food. But there is no white wall and the place didn't look boring at all. Her first impression was windows. There are a lot of windows, in fact, one side of the restaurant was all floor-to-ceiling windows, making the area looked spacious and airy. Her second impression was there are a lot of people here. The place was buzzing and most of the tables were taken. There was a queue of people, from visitors, patients, hospital workers, waiting patiently for the the team of catering staff added the finishing touches to their daily menu. Zeke led her to wait behind a couple of nurses who chatted about yesterday's menu.</p><p>"Anyway, the food here is top tier. Sometimes I asked myself, <em>why are you still doing this job? </em>then I remember the food in here and I go to work. You're also lucky because today's Friday and they served herbed chicken marsala, and the dessert is this cheese soufflé and they're-" he made a 'chef kiss' gesture before continuing, "...a knock out."</p><p>As much as Yara was attracted to this man, she was skeptical. Nothing can beat the food they serve in her campus. All the food in this hospital restaurant look too healthy and the best food shouldn't look that way. Also, the dessert, the cheese soufflé that Zeke brags off, even though it looked fine, it obviously hadn't met the molten brownies in her campus. It was the best dessert in the entire country. The cheese soufflé would cry.</p><p>However, when Yara (skeptically) eat the chicken, she took back all the things she had said.</p><p>"Oh my God," she said, or what she had attempted to said with a full mouth of food. Zeke nodding his head as if he told her <em>I told you so.</em></p><p>"That good, right?" Zeke asked, a smug smile plastered on his face. Yara took her time to chew and swallowed the food before looking at Zeke, pleased.</p><p>"Yeah," she took another bite of the chicken and moaned, "I'm considering this herbal chicken marcello as my new comfort food."</p><p>"Herbed chicken marsala," Zeke corrected her. Yara nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed that she actually didn't really hear when he said the name of the dish in the first place but she only shrugged at his correction.</p><p>"Well you can come by every Friday." Yara chewed her food slower when he heard Zeke's suggestion, a smile crept into her face. Having a good lunch with a cute surgeon? That sounded like a dream to her. And said surgeon was sitting in front of her, being handsome in his white coat. From now on she considered Friday to be her favourite day."</p><p>"So, a surgeon, huh?" Yara started, now fiddling with a mushroom on her plate, "What is it like?"</p><p>When Zeke looked at her for a second, Yara started to realize how stupid the question is so she quickly added, "The only medical experience I got was from Grey's Anatomy so bear with me."</p><p>Zeke laughed hearing that. Great, at least he found it funny, Yara thought.</p><p>"Well, the big picture is almost the same, some inaccuracies though here and there. For example, at least on my experience, there is little to none sexcapades compared to the show."</p><p>"No way," Yara said in disbelief, "There are a lot of hospital closets here! And you are-" <em>hot. </em>The adjective died in her mouth and Yara thank herself for it. Instead she made an up-and-down gestures with her hands at the said <em>hot </em>man.</p><p>"Nope, never. We're too busy. Also, I have moral codes." He winked at her. He winked while talking about his moral codes in sex. Yara's heart started to leap inside her ribcage.</p><p>"I feel like it's inappropriate to date a colleague, something bad happen and it would ruin the entire team."</p><p>"Good choice. Doesn't want someone cutting a wrong limb because they got mad at you."</p><p>"You know cutting limb isn't that easy, right?" Zeke said, raising an eyebrow at Yara. He looked so damn handsome doing that and Yara didn't regret saying such nonsense if every time she said something stupid he will give this response. And also, she had the chance to laugh together in the same table with him. From a third person point of view, they must look good together, huh?</p><p>"Zeke?" their little moment was interrupted when a doctor approach the table. A woman with long black hair and hooded eyes that look as if she needs a long sleep. Yet, somehow the eyes gave her a unique, attractive look. She gave Yara a look and smiled softly at her. Again, why all the staffs in this hospital so damn attractive? Should Yara consider moving to a medical school and pursue a career in this hospital?</p><p>"This is my brother's friend, Yara." Zeke introduced her.</p><p>"Hi, I'm Pieck," the doctor offered her hand, "Enjoying the food, Yara?"</p><p>"Yeah, I'm considering to eat here regularly."</p><p>"A great choice, really," Pieck laughed at her response, "Anyway, Zeke, Dr. Magath is searching for you. He wants to brief the team on the next surgery."</p><p>They talked for awhile with medical terms here and there. Yara didn't listen at all as her mind wondered how close these two attractive people really were. Now she was the third person, she can look at both of them and they're the definition of "looking good together". Weirdly, she kind of ship them together...</p><p>"Sorry, Yara, I had to go earlier than I intend to," Zeke said once Pieck gone, sounded genuinely disappointed.</p><p>"That's okay." Yara waved at him, now taking a spoonful of the infamous cheese soufflé. It was good, but maybe will taste better if Zeke didn't go.</p><p>"Perhaps next time?"</p><p><em>There will be next time?  </em>Yara smiled. She liked this potential next time.</p><p>"Yeah, see you next time."</p><p>---</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>a/n: hello for you folks who stumbled upon this story. Thank you for reading~ I actually want to write this as a casual story that I write when I'm bored but I ended up overthinking about it. I don't feel that great about this chapter too (because I felt Zeke is OOC?) hahaha.  Anyway, in here I imagine Zeke is younger, but you can imagine him however you like</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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